Release Date: 13/11/2020
Record Label: Know Hope Records
For Fans Of: Motion City Soundtrack, Dryjacket, Delta Sleep
Philly five-piece Goings have arrived with their debut LP, It’s For You, and it’s a quirky bundle of synth-infused oddities that are… quite the trip. The album calls out to people looking for togetherness in a digital age that makes such human connection anything but easy. This record doesn’t ease you in gently; there’s no warm-up. It’s For You has an intense eccentricity that propels you on a journey to fuck-knows-where from the get-go.
Fans of Motion City Soundtrack will fall in love with the synth-heavy, alt-rock vibes that form the spine of the release. ‘Phone Numbers’ and ‘Trying/Dying’ could pass as the work of Justin Courtney Pierre if you took them at face value, albeit it with a little less depth and intricacy than the sensei of alt-pop punk would produce. This record will endear itself to fans of that genre due to its uncanny and impressive resemblance at times. However, It’s For You feels as though it never quite reaches the gear it needs to in order to hit the high speeds that it threatens to do but ultimately doesn’t.
Goings aren’t merely trying to imitate other bands on this album, It’s For You sees the band explore dreamy soundscapes and slow-tempo percussion grooves in a way that is unique and charming. ‘Nothing Without You’ is such a track, slowly seeping out of the speakers and rolling across you like a morning mist. ‘Elevator’ is a slow-jam that grooves and moves, gathering momentum until it reaches a frantic crescendo. Whilst ‘Algorithm’, a song about the power technology holds over us, is an immaculately constructed haze. Listening to it is akin to lying blissfully at peace on a bed of feathers as the world passes by. Goings aren’t in a rush for you to go anywhere, after all, It’s For You.
There are facets to this album that aren’t quite as smooth and clean as what has been described previously, ‘Haircut 1000’ is a jagged track with a restraint that stops itself from spilling over the edge, meanwhile ‘W Blue-Sky Lives’ is a bubbly effort that whirls, pops and drops its way across a narrative about finding a glitch in the system that makes you invincible in the digital world. Not many bands have written a song about that before, right?
Goings have created a record in It’s For You that will appeal to fans of quirky, alternative pop-punk but may well raise some eyebrows along the way. The intention to create a record that is unique is clear, while noticeable influences such as Motion City Soundtrack are evident and effective, but it’s eccentricity and need to stand out from the crowd don’t necessarily make it an easy listen. Listening to this album is undoubtedly a voyage, but at the end of it, you might feel a little motion sick from all of the peculiar directions it heads in along the way.
Rating: 5/10
Recommended Track: ‘W Blue-Sky Lives’